The bedroom door on the second floor was left ajar.
Ning Zhen tiptoed in quietly. Meng Xianwen sat at her desk, working.
He probably knew it was her, because his gaze stayed fixed on the computer screen without even glancing her way. She walked over, leaned against the desk, and studied his features without blinking.
“What’s wrong?”
He multitasked—scanning emails while speaking in a flat tone—“Does your uncle like wearing it?”
“He was scared out of his wits.”
Ning Zhen beamed, mimicking her father’s several overly subtle displays of the watch on his wrist. He was showing off the watch; she was showing off her bracelet— “He just kept glancing at it like this. It was so funny.”
But Meng Xianwen’s wrist was bare.
She knew he was used to checking the time on his watch. Her gaze lingered, and she bent down, grabbed his arm, and pulled it toward her.
As if performing some ritual, Ning Zhen fastened the watch onto him. The fine print always came first, and she spoke before he could, ordering him: “Don’t you dare mock my dad’s watch. It’s his most treasured possession. It’s not expensive—doesn’t even amount to a fraction of yours—but don’t you dare. You only have to wear it for one afternoon.”
She’d said all there was to say.
Meng Xianwen gave her a helpless look. “I have to work.”
Ning Zhen put on a sympathetic face.
Now she truly understood why Meng Jiaran didn’t want to work at Hengxing.
Absolute wealth should mean absolute freedom, but that logic didn’t apply to Meng Xianwen. Her sympathy lasted only a few seconds before she brushed it aside. He didn’t deserve sympathy—and he didn’t need it.
He was clearly delighting in it all!
“Fine then,” she straightened up and stretched. “I’m taking a nap.”
Ever since they’d started living under the same roof, Ning Zhen had completely let herself go in front of Meng Xianwen. That whole idea of keeping up appearances? Gone.
She flopped onto the bed. The blanket and sheets smelled of sun-dried freshness, and she took a blissful deep breath. Then she turned her head to look at Meng Xianwen, who had already returned to complete focus, and her lips curved up unconsciously. She pulled out her phone from her pocket and snapped a few photos.
She had enough for a nine-grid post on Moments, with a table full of lunch dishes in the center.
She wrote: 【Even my neighbors can guess how I’m feeling [cheers] [dance]】
Within ten minutes, more than twenty comments rolled in.
Chang Yi: 【Don’t say neighbors—I’m dozens of kilometers away and I can’t escape it either】
Shu Wei: 【Adding me, five hundred kilometers away】
Meng Jiaran: 【Do people even need to guess how you feel?? [confused] [shocked]】
Guo Xia: 【Ooooh】
Ning Zhen tried hard to hold in her laughter. She scrolled through each comment one by one, occasionally stealing glances at Meng Xianwen, who was absorbed in work. Slowly, her eyelids grew heavier, and her head sank into the soft pillow as she drifted off into a deep sleep.
After she fell asleep, Meng Xianwen seemed to sense something and turned back to look at her.
He stole a moment from his work, tapped open his phone, and out of habit, opened her Moments. He gave a silent smile.
Ning Zhen slept soundly and didn’t wake until the afternoon. The chair at the desk was empty, and her suspicions stirred. She threw off the blanket, got out of bed, and on a whim walked over to the window to look down.
Meng Xianwen sat in the yard, chatting with her mother about something, his expression warm and gentle.
Then, as if he had eyes on the back of his head, he suddenly looked up at the second-story window.
Ning Zhen was quick—she yanked the curtains shut. Only once she realized how obviously that was a “guilty as charged” move did she get annoyed with herself, fingers instinctively twisting into the fabric of the curtain.
Her phone on the bed lit up, and she lunged onto the bed, seeing the new message on the screen.
Meng Xianwen: 【Aren’t you coming down?】
She didn’t feel like responding. But then she discovered that her earlier Moments post had gained so many likes and comments that it looked like it was about to set a record.
Curious, she tapped to open it.
Chang Yi: 【Who liked this?】
Lu Yuan: 【Who liked this?】
Meng Jiaran: 【Who liked this?】
The comments lined up neatly in a row. Just as Ning Zhen was completely baffled, she noticed Meng Xianwen’s avatar among the likes. Her eyes widened instantly. Wait, really?
After confirming she wasn’t seeing things, Ning Zhen felt a smile spreading in her eyes. She quickly switched to their chat: 【Coming right down!】
As the sun set, after dinner, Ning Zhen wasn’t in a hurry to leave. She patiently dyed her mother’s hair in the courtyard, muttering, “Didn’t I get you a membership card? That hair salon’s stylist is really skilled—they give great wash and scalp massages, too.”
Ye Junlan’s tone turned dangerous. “What—are you too good to be bothered now?”
Ning Zhen pursed her lips. “I’m saying you don’t know how to enjoy yourself.”
Mother and daughter bickered and chatted, warm and lively, which made the house feel all the emptier. Ning Hui climbed the stairs holding the banister, knocked on his daughter’s bedroom door, and Meng Xianwen, who had just ended a phone call, walked over to open it. “Uncle.”
Ning Hui chuckled twice, carefully pulling a watch from his pocket.
It was wrapped in a handkerchief. He unfolded it and held it out. “Xianwen, here, your watch. I spent the entire afternoon on pins and needles, terrified it might get scratched.”
Meng Xianwen smiled. “Uncle, if you like it—”
Before he could finish, Ning Hui waved his hands hurriedly. “No, no, no—I prefer my own watch.” He paused, then said cheerfully, his face wearing an expression he couldn’t hide—pure smugness—“This watch was the one Zhenzhen bought me after she saved up months of her salary.”
Meng Xianwen blinked, taken aback.
“I see.” He understood now. He reached up and took off the watch he’d been wearing all afternoon.
The room’s light spilled out toward him, and as his eyes dropped, he paused. Only now did he notice the small engraving on the inside of the watch dial: 【Zhen’s Dad】
—
Under the night sky, Ning Zhen sat in the back seat, window rolled down as she waved continuously. Through the rearview mirror, Ye Junlan’s and Ning Hui’s silhouettes grew smaller and smaller until Xiao Ding drove the car out of the alley, and only then did she settle back into her seat, exhaling. “Phew!”
When she was little, she used to declare she’d never be apart from her parents—who knew that in the end, she’d surrender to a three-to-four-hour commute?
Shengdu Finance was too far from her parents’ home.
From the old district to the new one, the distance was one thing, but rush hour felt like commuter traffic between two different cities.
“I can have Xiao Ding pick you up tomorrow.”
Mottled shadows of trees passed over the car window. Meng Xianwen sat half-revealed in light and shadow, and he said something that was at least decent to hear.
Ning Zhen waved it off. She, the actual homeowner, wouldn’t be staying. This guest of hers might just run wild on her turf if she wasn’t there. There was no way she’d make such a rookie mistake. Thinking this to herself, she affectionately wrapped her arm around his and rested her head on his shoulder. “No way. Not unless you stay with me.”
Meng Xianwen glanced at her, then said in a low voice, “Remember to come clean soon.”
“I know, alright!” Ning Zhen’s head throbbed just hearing him bring it up, and he never seemed to register that he’d been staying at her parents’ house for quite a while. How did he not get it?
He didn’t say anything else, closing his eyes and pretending her muttering was just white noise to lull him to sleep.
The car drove steadily out of the old district. The light dimmed, and Ning Zhen had no interest in staring at her phone. She rummaged through her bag for her earbuds, but just as she was about to put them in, a hand appeared in front of her.
"You want to listen?" she asked, not waiting for his answer before letting out a mocking laugh. "Who was it who said only people with guilty consciences listen to the Great Compassion Mantra?"
"So, you're saying my judgment was right?"
"..." Ning Zhen roughly shoved the earphones onto him.
At a red light, Xiao Ding glanced at the rearview mirror. The back seat was perfectly harmonious—the two of them sharing a pair of earphones.
Suddenly, the navigation alerted that it was time to go. He gently pressed the accelerator, and the car window became a mirror reflecting the street across. Xu Lai, tall and slender, flashed past, walking hurriedly into a bustling fusion restaurant.
Xu Lai stood in the lobby and scanned the room. His gaze quickly stopped. With a warm smile on his face, he politely declined the hostess's guidance and strode over to a window seat. "Jingge, sorry to keep you waiting."
"Sit, sit, sit." Chen Jinghe waved it off dismissively. "What's with the waiting? I just got here myself."
Xu Lai sat down across from him. Between friends, fate really does play a part. Ever since they'd met, their face-to-face meetings had been rare—they chatted a lot online—but there was no awkwardness between them at all.
"I remember your work keeps you incredibly busy. Why the sudden dinner invitation? Something up?" Chen Jinghe poured him a cup of tea, curious.
"A private matter." Xu Lai chose his words carefully. He did know a few doctors, but after much deliberation and weighing his options, his mind kept circling back to Chen Jinghe. He'd even hesitated on the way over, unsure whether he should ask at all.
"A private matter?" Chen Jinghe raised an eyebrow. Seeing Xu Lai's hesitant expression, a bold guess floated to mind. "Wait, don't tell me you're getting married and handing me an invitation?"
It wasn't unreasonable to speculate—something like this had already happened twice this year.
Xu Lai looked puzzled, then followed by helplessness. "No, I don't even have a girlfriend."
Chen Jinghe froze, then smiled. He was about to explain himself to Xu Lai when a lively face suddenly popped into his head. He slapped his forehead. "Right, right, right! I knew she looked familiar. I must have seen her somewhere before!"
"What?"
"I saw a young girl at the hospital today. She looked very familiar, but I just couldn't remember where from." Chen Jinghe picked up his phone and flipped through his photos with a serious expression. Those were photos from several years ago, so it took some time to find.
The scrolling stopped.
It froze on a photo. Xu Lai, still in grad school, looked much greener than now, a childish birthday crown on his head and a helpless look on his face. Next to him, a girl in a shirt dress held a cake, her smile sweet.
Chen Jinghe turned the phone around and held it up to Xu Lai.
Xu Lai was slightly dazed, but only for a few seconds. He quickly realized the more serious issue. His gaze went past the young man and woman on the screen, fixed on Chen Jinghe, and he frowned. "You saw her at the hospital?"
He knew the hospital where Chen Jinghe worked was the Lu family's hospital, and he also knew about the relationship between Lu Yuan and Meng Xianwen.
Chen Jinghe nodded, without thinking much and said, "She was with her boyfriend."
The moment he said it, Chen Jinghe grew puzzled for a second. He could probably guess that Xu Lai liked the girl in the photo, but she had a boyfriend now—and her boyfriend looked pretty intimidating?
Xu Lai's expression changed slightly.
Ning Zhen and Mr. Meng went to the hospital today?
He was very sure the sick person wasn't her, because he'd seen her WeChat Moments and Weibo posts that day. Every word she wrote radiated a soaring joy.
So, who needed to see a doctor went without saying.
Chen Jinghe thought he'd touched on something painful for Xu Lai, so he cleared his throat and awkwardly changed the subject. "So, what was the private matter you mentioned?"
Xu Lai looked at him, his face blank for a few seconds, then shook his head. "Oh, I wanted to ask—do you know any supplements suitable for someone my parents' age?"
Chen Jinghe: "?"
The dinner, paid for by Xu Lai, ended quickly. The two met in a hurry and parted in a hurry.
Coming out of the restaurant, Xu Lai didn't take a cab. He walked aimlessly along the street, and before he knew it, he'd arrived in front of his parents' house. His mother was still at the park square dancing, so only his father was home. Both men were the silent type, so they sat on the sofa, saying nothing to each other.
After a long while, Xu's father hesitantly spoke up: "Run into something tough?"
Xu Lai was quiet for a long time. "If you know someone is doing something dangerous, but you can't stop them, what should you do? What should you do?"
The last sentence was almost a whisper.
It was a question for himself, and also for Ning Zhen.
-
Shortly after Ning Zhen got home, her phone rang. It was Ye Junlan calling, to confirm her daughter had gotten home safely.
"Oh, this person is my mother, oh, this person is my ma—"
"This person gave me life, gave me a home—"
In the study, Meng Xianwen pressed his fingers to his forehead. He had no idea where Ning Zhen kept finding so many different ringtones—so many that he could now accurately guess who was calling her. He got up and was about to close the door.
Remembering how she'd deliberately teased him at noon, he frowned for a moment in thought, then calmly walked out of the study. He scanned the room and spotted Ning Zhen on the balcony, answering the phone while folding bath towels.
Ning Zhen was fully committed to her goal of treating Meng Xianwen as someone here for tribulation, not as an emperor.
Hanging there were two bath towels, gray his, white hers. Even though it was the easiest thing in the world, she absolutely refused to fold his. She folded her own towel and turned around, nearly jumping out of her skin.
Meng Xianwen was standing silently behind her.
Ning Zhen quickly covered her phone and mouthed at him: "My mom."
His expression didn't change.
Ning Zhen eyed him suspiciously, a bad feeling creeping in. She mumbled acknowledgments into the phone while edging past Meng Xianwen to head somewhere else. A faint smile flickered across his face, and he took a long stride to follow her.
It was as if the scene from noon were being replayed, only this time it was her turn to dodge him.
Ning Zhen's scalp prickled. He was still holding his phone—God knows how many people contacted him daily, and maybe the next second his phone would ring. How would she explain that to her mother?!
She slipped into the kitchen and tried to slide the door shut, but a muscular arm blocked it.
"..." Ning Zhen glared at him hatefully, but her mother showed no sign of hanging up. There was no way out now. The tall and imposing Meng Xianwen stepped in, making the already narrow kitchen feel even more cramped.
He advanced step by step toward her; she backed up until she hit the counter, cornered.
Meng Xianwen noticed the cherry tomatoes she'd washed on the counter. He smirked, picked one up. Ning Zhen, nervous the whole time, felt her eyelid twitch and immediately understood his wicked intentions.
This man's capacity for revenge was way too strong!
She took the initiative, grabbing his hand and biting the cherry tomato straight off his fingers, staring at him defiantly.
Meng Xianwen seemed caught off guard by her unexpected move, his body stiffening slightly.
He gave her a long, deep look. His fingers still tingled with the soft feel of her lips brushing over them, and he stepped back half a step, turning calmly to walk out.
Ning Zhen gloated triumphantly behind him.
You little jerk! So immature!
-----------------------
